Ranch Revival

Take pause and celebrate the American Ranch. Originally designed in the U.S. in the 1920s, the ranch style home, sometimes called California Ranch or rambler, is uniquely American. The design has found broad appeal around the world and the design has been exported to many countries. Noted for their long, low to the ground architecture, they incorporate modernist elements. They are usually constructed with simple, shallow pitched roofs with wide eaves to shade windows and protect interior spaces from excessive heat. Their minimalist design steers clear of overdone interior and exterior decoration. Some have courtyards and porches, another way to extend living space by creating outdoor rooms.

While there aren't huge numbers of the unpretentious ranch under the category of new construction, the simple architectural design and spacious interiors make them an attractive option for many people of all ages and stages of life. Currently, the ranch style home is enjoying a popularity resurgence. This renewed interest is fueled by home buyers who fall in love with the practical, smart footprint of the ranch. In many ranch homes, the bedrooms are clustered and typically branch off of a main hallway, providing a quiet retreat from the main living areas. The kitchens are often large, designed to both prepare and enjoy a meal with the whole family. Picture windows are common and prominent and help to achieve congruity between the spaces inside and out, marrying the natural landscape to the home itself.

For young and small families, ranch homes offer tremendous value. Because most ranches on the market today are modern, they enjoy the mechanics of a modern era. Plus their one floor design makes them maintenance dreams. Their modest square footage (usually under 2000) makes heating a cooling a breeze with money to spare. And when the time comes to replace the roof shingles or paint the siding, ranch owners will enjoy substantial savings compared to handling the same maintenance for a traditional 2-story Colonial home with steep roofs. 

And what about our aging baby boomers? A huge segment of our population is heading toward retirement in the not too distant future, one that will hopefully yield a very active lifestyle. For shrewd consumers in this category, finding a home with a single floor layout is part of smart, practical planning. With everything accessible from the main floor and no staircases, people can maintain their independence and freely navigate their living space well beyond their retirement years. Now that is something to celebrate!

43 Clark Road, Durham ~ offered for $311,000

Check out this really distinctive and deceptive California style Ranch off the beaten path on a quiet dead end road in Durham. The layout and design of this smartly styled home dictates that downtime and bringing the outdoors in are TOP priorities. The large living room with glorious hardwood floors offers up wall-to-wall windows with lush green vistas and contemporary stone fireplace.

With 1728 square feet, main floor living has never looked so good carving out plenty of space with 3 good-sized bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, family room with nearby kitchen and dining room filled with cool details like the wood ceiling, tile floor, and stone wall to house your wall oven and cooktop in style! From the kitchen, slip through the slider and jumpstart the weekend anytime from the relaxing stone patio with built-in fireplace and 1.12 acres to enjoy.

More to love: the comfort and convenience of central air and central vacuum, unfinished basement with half bath, 2 car attached garage, and of course, main floor laundry. Ideally situated with ready access to 91, this cool Ranch deserves more than a drive-by.